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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26581102">Seeking Eden</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/emlee2/pseuds/emlee2'>emlee2</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Voltron: Legendary Defender</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Camping, F/F, Fluff, Keith really loves her girlfriend, Kissing, Post-Graduation, Road Trips, femsheith, just so much fluff</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 12:13:45</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,009</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26581102</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/emlee2/pseuds/emlee2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Keith looks at Shiro, hair down and absolutely turning into a tangled, knotty mess as the wind whips through it, and wonders how the hell she got here.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Keith/Shiro (Voltron)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Femsheith Exchange 2020</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Seeking Eden</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/tealady19/gifts">tealady19</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I'm so excited to finally share my Femsheith Exchange piece!! I had so much fun taking part in this and I'm hella excited to see what y'all have been making! </p>
<p>Stephanie- it was such a pleasure working through the prompt ideas that you had, I hope you enjoy! </p>
<p>All my love 💛</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Keith looks at Shiro, hair down and absolutely turning into a tangled, knotty mess as the wind whips through it, and wonders how the hell she got here. </p>
<p>Here, driving through the outskirts of the city and sitting next to the one person in the world who she could never let down. There’s a cap and gown in the trunk, shoved unceremoniously between duffle bags and lanterns and a tent that Shiro brought home from the grocery store, eyes wild with her victory. She laughed,  <i>We’re going on a road trip! </i></p>
<p>Keith had been in the midst of writing her senior thesis, elbow deep in plans and blueprints and defense for her jet engine that wasn’t supposed to be possible. Shiro had encouraged her through the entire thing, acting as a sounding board and a mentor and the best proofreader the world had ever seen. </p>
<p>But sitting in the seat next to her, that moment feels like a million years away. </p>
<p>She wants to lean over the stick and kiss her. She wants her to stop singing like an angry cat with a country twang and sing like she means it. She really, really wants to say  <i>I love you </i>, but the lump in her throat has other plans. </p>
<p>The voice in the back of her head that used to squire her unworthiness is drowned out by the rushing of air around the jeep that Shiro spent the better part of a year taking apart and putting back together. That, and the god awful rendition of some old pop-country song that Shiro insists isn’t that bad.<br/>
Shiro glances out of the corner of her eye, gaze switching between Keith and the road. She scrunches her nose, the thin band of scar tissue twisting, “What?” </p>
<p>Keith shakes her head and twists so that her back is pressed against the seat rather than the frame of the door. The only thing she doesn’t like about this jeep is that the stick keeps her from holding Shiro’s hand while she drives. </p>
<p>She settles for tracing lines over the metal, pausing to drum out patterns over the smooth surface. The city falls away to the suburbs, then to the open road as the sun slips lower in the horizon. The orange glow rests on Shiro’s cheeks, only broken by the shadow of her sunglasses and the wild silver hair that keeps getting stuck in her mouth. Keith takes off her hat and twists in her seat, tucking her knees under her so that she has the height needed to secure it on Shiro’s head. She tries not to wince at the treacherous tangle that she’ll have to brush out later. </p>
<p>Shiro tsks, barely audible over the radio and the wind, “It’s gonna fly off!” </p>
<p>“No it’s not,” Keith takes a pin from her bangs and secures the back of the hat in the tangle, “See?” </p>
<p>“I give it five minutes.” </p>
<p>“What do I get when you’re wrong?” </p>
<p>Shiro laughs, leaning over and presenting her cheek, “You get to kiss me when I’m right or you get to keep your hat if it doesn’t go flying.” </p>
<p>Keith rolls her eyes, flicking Shiro and turning back to her seat, “You better not lose my hat.” </p>
<p>“Wasn’t this my hat?” </p>
<p>Keith fights the smirk trying to make its way onto her lips, “It’s not anymore.” </p>
<p>Shiro scoffs and presses the clutch in, encouraging the jeep into a higher gear, saved only for the open highways. Keith’s foot is drawn to the runner outside of the frame, the feeling of the world rushing around them not quite as intense as it is on her motorcycle, but still thrilling in its own right. </p>
<p>She remembers when Shiro brought the jeep home. The entire thing rattled as she steered it in front of their townhouse, the engine giving a weak sputter when it was shifted into reverse before stalling out completely. Keith had watched from the stoop as Shiro cursed, wiggled the shift, pressed the clutch in over and over, furiously trying to get it to start again. </p>
<p>It was rusted at the wheel wells, only had one working headlight, there was a tear in the fabric roof, and Shiro looked at it like it was her everything. She shoved open the door and vaulted out of the rustbucket on wheels to start pushing it into the driveway. At that point, Keith sighed and went to push the jeep with her, knowing that there was no point in arguing when she set her mind to doing something. </p>
<p>The song changes to something tolerable and Keith closes her eyes, basking in the warmth of the sunlight through the open roof. Shiro lifts her hand from the shift and it settles on Keith’s knee, squeezing gently. </p>
<p>The dying sun paints the inside of her eyelids red and warm as Shiro’s cool palm slides over the exposed skin of her thigh. If there were ever a moment to suspend in amber, she thinks this would be it. Shiro starts to sing again, this time low and sweet over the dulcet tones crooning across the radio. The steady rumble of the engine beneath her and the press of Shiro’s thumb against the outside of her knee lulls her to sleep as the fields give way to forest.  </p>
<p>-</p>
<p>Something is on her face and Keith doesn’t care for it at all, especially because it's interrupting her dream  <i>just </i> as it’s getting good. A sleep-addled mind decides the best course of action is to swat the offending something away. </p>
<p>The only problem is she underestimates the amount of force behind her hand that makes contact with the smooth cheek of the perfect, amazing woman who took it upon herself to plan a post graduation romp to a lake that they had been meaning to visit. </p>
<p>Shiro swears and knocks her head against the frame, the wince on her face mirrored by Keith’s. </p>
<p>“We’re here,” she whines, breath hissing through her teeth as she cradles the back of her head. </p>
<p>Keith tucks her legs under her and turns Shiro’s face to inspect the sore spot, “Don’t scare me like that!” </p>
<p>“I didn’t think you would try and punch me,” Shiro pouts, “Especially after I spent an hour setting up the campsite for you.” </p>
<p>“You set up,” Keith starts, glancing over Shiro’s shoulder and gasping, “How long was I asleep?” Her heart swells as she takes the sight in, an aching flutter behind her ribs. </p>
<p>“Last two hours of the drive and long enough for me to do,” Shiro gestures to the tent, the two chairs by the crackling fire, a string of lights twisting around the tree just behind them  “All this.” </p>
<p>Keith doesn’t notice that her mouth is hanging open or that her hands have slid down to rest on Shiro’s hips. “I didn’t know you were going to do all this,” She whispers, reverent. </p>
<p>“We’re celebrating,” Shiro murmurs, tilting Keith’s face back to her so she can press a kiss against her nose, “You deserve all of it and more.” </p>
<p>Keith’s eyes are clouding over, annoying the living hell out of her, “What did I do to deserve  <i>you </i>?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Shiro smiles, smoothing the hair out of Keith’s face and settling into her lap and kissing her gently. She tangles her fingers through thick hair and deepens the kiss ever so slightly, teeth grazing over Keith’s lips. The taste of the expensive chapstick she swears by is ruinous. She wont let Keith take it further, pulls away when Keith’s fingers squeeze her hips and ignores the unconscious whine that escapes before Keith can think to stop it. </p>
<p>She climbs off of her lap and Keith is too besotted with the grin on her face to do anything but watch. She tries to climb out after her and is woefully reminded that seat belts exist. </p>
<p>“What the- are you kidding me,” Keith grumbles, clicking the belt off and grabbing the hat that at some point was tossed onto the floor at Keith’s feet.  <i>It lasted longer than five minutes </i>, she thinks, the smug grin returning once more. She pulls the tie out of her hair and runs fingers through it before she puts the hat back on, twisting it so that the bill doesn’t occlude her eyes. </p>
<p> Shiro hauls the cooler over to the chairs, pulling two hard ciders from within it and handing an open one to Keith. She takes it and steps in to wrap an arm around her girlfriend’s waist. </p>
<p>“Thank you,” Keith kisses the edge of her jaw and rests her cheek on her shoulder.<br/>
“Congratulations, baby,” Shiro hums and kisses her forehead, “I’m so proud of you.”<br/>
Keith grumbles, pressing her nose against the worn fabric of Shiro’s t-shirt while her cheeks warm. Shiro is the only person in the world that can make her blush and she seems to take full advantage of the ability. </p>
<p>She pulls Keith into a firm hug and sways them. Keith rests her toes on top of Shiro’s and laughs when Shiro digs in so that they can dance like that. </p>
<p>“I’m gonna spill my drink,” Shiro laughs, stepping around the fire with Keith leaning against her chest. </p>
<p> Keith tosses her head back, knowing full well that she’s about to do the same, “Don’t spill it on me!” </p>
<p>Shiro splays her fingers against the small of Keith’s back and slows them down, leaning forward to kiss her again and again. Keith tastes the cider on her lips and smiles against them, perfectly and incandescently happy to stay in this moment as long as she possibly can. </p>
<p>“We should go see the lake,” Shiro says, not pulling away from the kiss just yet. </p>
<p>Keith’s shoulders shake with a laugh, “Then take me there.” </p>
<p>She laments the loss of Shiro’s lips when she pulls away with a scheming, “Oh?” </p>
<p>She doesn’t trust the look on Shiro’s face. Nor does she trust the way that she chugs the rest of her cider and tosses the bottle somewhere behind them. </p>
<p>“That’s littering! Shiro, honey, no-” she schools her face into something more threatening and considerate of the environment, pressing a finger into the center of her girlfriend’s chest. </p>
<p>“Nope,” she pops the ‘p’, “You asked for me to take you there.”</p>
<p>Shiro leans down and slides her arm behind Keith’s knees, scooping her into a bridal carry and jostling the cider still in Keith’s hands and paying no mind to how it splashes on her shirt or the displeased shriek that she earns for her efforts. </p>
<p>“Look what you did!” Keith laughs, swatting at Shiro’s chest, “It’s all over my shirt!”</p>
<p>Shiro raises an eyebrow, “Oh no,” she deadpans, “Guess you’ll just have to take it off.” </p>
<p>Keith gives her a sly grin as she’s walked to the path through the trees around their campsite, “You know, if you want to see me naked all you have to do is ask.” </p>
<p>Shiro chokes, her cheeks turning red. Keith squirms in her arms to get a better look at her, knowing that there’s no chance of Shiro dropping her. </p>
<p>She huffs, eyes flitting over Shiro’s face, taking in every inch of her bashful avoidance, “Seriously?” </p>
<p>Her brows pinch together in disbelief. Shiro won’t look at her, but the creeping flush on her neck tells her everything she needs to know. She drives a finger against her breastbone, laughing so hard that Shiro has to readjust her grip to prevent her precious cargo from tumbling to the ground. </p>
<p>Shiro squawks, her cheeks turning a shade of red so bright Keith can see it in the darkness of the trees around them, “What?!”</p>
<p>Keith laughs, indignant and sure, “You’re already drunk! You had one drink and you can’t take what you’re dishing out!” </p>
<p>“Shhh,” Shiro pouts, lifting Keith up a little further. </p>
<p>Keith keeps laughing, a full belly laugh that Shiro used to have to work her ass off for. She feels Shiro’s fingers moving over her ribs and flinches, the sound of simple glee dying in her chest, “Don’t you dare.”</p>
<p>The corners of Shiro’s lips pull down in a half-assed attempt to hide her grin. It doesn’t work.</p>
<p>“Shiro.”</p>
<p>She feels her fingers digging into her side and stifles a scream, every muscle in her body locking up at the pressure. It’s a flail and a freeze all at once, the way that she tries to contort away from Shiro’s attack on her unsuspecting ribs. Her girlfriend’s discovery of her ticklishness has been a thorn in her side since its occurrence. </p>
<p>Shiro stumbles a little bit on the path and the pressure goes away, allowing Keith a moment of reprieve. As long as her fingers remain against her ribs, Keith is stiff as a board. She knows all too well how relentless Shiro can be when she remembers just how ticklish she is. </p>
<p>Going by the sated grin on her face, though, Keith knows that Shiro won't renew her assault until Keith settles her guard. Her eyes stay fixed on Shiro’s face, monitoring for subtle changes in the crook of her smile or the flare of her nose that comes just before she does something that would be considered a victory in any sense of the word. </p>
<p>Keith catches glimpses of the stars through the trees and longs for the desert, the clear skies unobstructed and filled to the brim with glittering constellations. She throws her arms around Shiro’s neck and leans her cheek against strong shoulders, “Thank you.” </p>
<p>“For?”</p>
<p>“Taking me away,” Keith says, the echoes of a laugh still lifting her chest, “I needed it.” </p>
<p>Shiro squeezes her close, carefully avoiding the spot on Keith’s ribs that would make her flinch, “I think I did, too.” </p>
<p>The smaller woman hums and rests further into Shiro’s arms, “How much longer ‘til the lake?” </p>
<p>“Should be right,” Shiro pauses, craning her neck to peer over the brush that occludes the trail in front of them, “Up here.” </p>
<p>Keith glances out of the corner of her eye, “Are you lost?” In any other circumstance, the question would prompt her to step in and take control, not caring for time wasted. But in moments like this where she feels like the world has stopped moving by them, she can’t be bothered to care. </p>
<p>“I don’t get lost.”</p>
<p>“What about that time in New-”</p>
<p>“If you bring up New Mexico I’m dropping you,” Shiro interrupts, the threat empty and lighthearted. </p>
<p>Keith smiles and shifts forward to lay a kiss against her cheek, “As long as you know.” </p>
<p>“You’re a brat,” Shiro mutters. </p>
<p>“Mhm,” Keith closes her eyes and listens to the world around them, the crunch of Shiro’s footsteps on the path and the chirping of crickets in the brush. All of the tension from the semester melts away like this. </p>
<p>The air cools as they get closer to the lake, all the heat of the day lifting its grip on the woods. It’s going to be a hot summer, if the early shift to spring is anything to go by. Keith is thankful for it, she never really adjusted to the icy winters. Shiro loved them, swearing by the snow even when they had to wake up an hour earlier and leave the warm sanctuary of their bed just to shovel the walkway. </p>
<p>The path gives way to coarse sand and Shiro relinquishes the hold she had on her body. She does little in the way of repressing her disdain for the loss of contact, making up for it instead by wedging herself into Shiro’s side. </p>
<p>“Race you to the water, old timer,” she lilts. For one last moment she savors the warmth of Shiro’s side before she digs her fingers in, seeking a moment of revenge for the previous assault on her nerves, and takes off for the lake, shedding her shoes and shirt as her legs carry her in a sprint that she never knew she missed. </p>
<p>Over the sound of the air rushing past her, she can hear her girlfriend calling out accusations of cheating, but there are a few ways she can think to make up for her wrongdoings once they return to their perfect little campsite. None of which involve an apology as the rush of adrenaline sings through her veins, legs carrying her across the still sun-warmed sand.</p>
<p>She can hardly stop to see it, but the stars above them shine so bright over the clear lake that the ache and longing for the desert recedes. In its place is a helpless love for the sky that so easily overpowers her love for the earth beneath her feet. </p>
<p>The water is painfully cold on first contact,drawing a startled shriek from her lungs, but it gives way to a soothing chill once she’s in up to her knees. The splash and echoed shout behind her is indication enough that Shiro has joined her in the lake. </p>
<p>Keith smiles as she catches her breath, reveling in the smile spread over her best friend’s face. Shiro wades closer and braces her hands on her knees, chest heaving from the effort of catching up to her. She slides closer and nudges the silvery strands away from where they hang over her face. </p>
<p>It’s a practiced motion, the way that she tucks Shiro’s hair behind her ear. The amount of times she’s done it makes it as easy as breathing. Fingers follow the length behind her ear, trailing beneath the smooth skin of Shiro’s jaw until fingertips rest beneath her chin and pull her from where she leans closer, closer, closer. Keith has always been impatient, really. Some things never go away. The second she’s close enough she surges forward and seals the kiss, wastes no time opening up to deepen it and express her gratitude in no uncertain terms. </p>
<p>Shiro gasps, still collecting breath even as Keith makes every effort to take it away. She feels hands sliding over her flank until they settle on Keith’s hips</p>
<p>The lump in her throat is gone, “I love you so much.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>dreamy sigh, <i>women</i><br/>come hang out on <a href="https://twitter.com/yolkswagen2">twitter!</a></p></blockquote></div></div>
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